PR Golden Turkey Award goes to Tiger Woods

Day 5 and the silence continues

I am a bit late on my annual Golden Turkey awards (this Thanksgiving I actually did get me some fried turkey, see photo, thanks brother Mark!), but one obvious candidate is Tiger Woods.

Last night I found myself nodding in agreement with the talking heads on the Larry King Show – for a change they all seemed to concur, in this case that Tiger Woods is not doing himself an favors by not sharing more details about the accident (see NY Times article Woods, Not Talking to Police, Skips Tournament).  A right to remain silent (the obligatory defense attorney view)  does not mean that it is wise to do so.

One thing worse than a reputation tarnished is one that is recklessly and needlessly squandered.  By remaining silent, Woods is antagonizing the media beast, becoming fodder for the tabloids and in the process going from media darling to scoundrel.

The facts might not be pretty, but he can easily tamp down the feeding frenzy by just saying what happened and moving past it.  His silence not only feeds speculation but shows arrogance and intransigence (Woods either does not have good handlers or is ignoring their advice).

Man up, Tiger Woods, and tell your story

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